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Bond set at $1M for city man accused of kidnapping, rape
The man is to have no contact with the woman.
YOUNGSTOWN — A city man is being held in the Mahoning County jail in lieu of a $1 million bond after police say he held a woman against her will and tried to force her to engage in sexual activity.
James Duffy, 51, of Sunset Drive, appeared before Judge Robert P. Milich of Youngstown Municipal Court for arraignment Friday morning on one charge of kidnapping and another charge of rape. Judge Milich determined that Duffy, already being held in the county jail, will remain there until he can raise $1 million in bond money.
Duffy is also to have no contact with the woman he is accused of attacking.
Parts of what led to the judge’s decision were the charges against Duffy and a reading of the circumstances around those charges by prosecutors.
According to police, officers responded to Duffy’s home just after 3:30 a.m. Friday. Officers said they were met at the door by a shirtless Duffy, who was zipping up his pants.
Sitting on the floor crying behind Duffy was a 36-year-old Cambridge Avenue woman. The woman immediately began to beg officers for help.
Reports say Duffy told officers that the woman is a “hooker and a crackhead” who broke into his home and tried to rob him for money to buy more drugs. Reports, however, say he changed the story when officers found no forced entry to the home.
Officers spoke to the woman, who offered a much different account of what transpired inside the home.
The woman told police she stopped at the home earlier in the evening looking for a relative of Duffy’s. The relative was not home, but she accepted an invitation to stay and have a drink.
The woman reportedly told police that Duffy drank 12 beers while she was there, then told her she would not be permitted to leave the home “until you give me what I want.” The woman said she tried to leave, but Duffy punched her three times in the side of the head.
The woman dialed 911, but the phone was snatched away and hung up.
According to reports, Duffy dragged the woman by her hair to a living-room area, then stripped down to his underpants. He began trying to rip off her clothing but was interrupted by police knocking on the door.
jgoodwin@vindy.com